A new ad promoting Dove's Men+Care line features Australian rugby player David Pocock addressing his decision in a match last year to approach a referee about homophobic slurs being made by the opposing teams.

It's part of Dove's "Strength to Care" campaign that promotes redefining masculinity as being thoughtful and inclusive.

"What happened in the game was a result of our team talking about homophobia in sport and agreeing we're not gonna stand for it," Pocock says in the clip. "It was a split-second decision to say 'this isn't right.'"

The incident divided the rugby community, with some claiming Pocock, a flanker for the Brumbies, needed to just accept that foul language is a part of rugby.

"It is not a matter of going after one particular guy, it is just saying 'this isn’t something we want to see in our game,' he explained at the time. "We want to be inclusive for people watching and people playing. That’s what it comes down to."

“We were just making the referee aware. I put it with racism and all sorts of other things that aren’t good enough."

Pocock has been an outspoken supporter of marriage equality in Australia and was also arrested for taking part in a protest at the Maules Creek coal mine in New South Wales.

He says his concern for social justice stems from childhood: he was born in Zimbabwe and moved with his family as a teen to Australia, where he saw many of the same patriarchal, racist and homophobic attitudes flourish.

As part of a society "where my privilege was further enshrined—being a white heterosexual male who’s good at sport," Pocock felt a need to speak out.

The Dove video is the first in a series, "David Pocock’s Journey to Strength."